Geoffrey Kipsang

Who is Geoffrey Kipsang?

Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in cross country and half marathon races. He was the 2011 World Junior Cross Country Champion and has won half marathons in Lille and Berlin.

Raised in the village of Chepkorio in Kenya's Rift Valley Province, Kipsang first competed abroad in 2010, when he travelled to Finland and set track bests of 3:48.15 minutes for the 1500 metres and 7:54.15 minutes over 3000 metres. The following year he took to the Kenya cross country circuit and won at the Discovery Kenya Cross Country in Eldoret, defeating Essa Ismail Rashed. At the Kenyan Cross Country Championships a month later, he ran in the junior section and finished in fourth, which was enough to earn him a place on the team for the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. The world competition proved to be a pivotal moment for Kipsang's career, although it was his team mate Isiah Kiplangat Koech who was the pre-race favourite. The Kenyans were not given any team instructions and Kipsang reacted by taking the lead immediately with a very fast start. He never slipped out of the lead and out ran the field on the final lap to take the world junior title.